Delorean Are Breaking Up

The Spanish band will play a series of farewell dates before coming to an end

Delorean photo by Noel Vasquez/Getty Images

Delorean have announced they are breaking up. The Spanish band—Unai Lazcano, Igor Escudero, Ekhi Lopetegi, Guille Astrain, and former member Tomás Palomo—revealed the news in a lengthy statement posed to Facebook in Spanish and Basque. They will play a series of farewell dates before coming to an end. Pitchfork has translated the full text of the statement; find that below.

Delorean formed in 2000. They released 7 studio albums in total, the most recent one being last year’s Mikel Laboa. Founding guitarist Palomo departed the group in 2008, with Astrain taking his place. In 2013, the band were victimized in a “virtual kidnapping” in Mexico City. Over the course of their career, they collaborated with artists such as Caroline Polachek, John Talabot, Glasser, and others.

A singer once said that “forever” never lasts, and we’ve been no
exception. Our career never had a clear starting point; it just kind
of came together as the result of narrowing an uncertain path. It’s
obvious that it was never the product of simple spontaneity, rather a
series of small decisions whose objective was nothing less than
remaining faithful to the desire to write songs, make records. After
all this time, our adventure, or journey, ends consciously and
clearly, with the peace of mind that comes from a unanimous decision.
We end, then, remaining faithful to what music and art are or should
be: doing whatever one wants, and loving whatever one does.

To say that we are no longer the same people today we were when we
began is perhaps too obvious: A lot can happen in 18 years (10 for
Guille, 8 for Tomás). But it’s still true. We’ve put out six LP, two
EPs, and some singles. We have traveled up and down the Spanish
peninsula the whole time, getting to know many of its corners, but
we’ve also been lucky to travel the world. We’ve gotten to know
Europe, Russia, Mexico, Ethiopia, the Philippines, Japan, China,
Australia, the U.S., Canada… And memory also takes us back from the
Norwegian fjords to the crater of Wenchi, from Vladivostock to
Galicia, from California to Montreal, from Vancouver to Beijing, from
Tokyo to Manila… We’ve given concerts in some of the least expected
places, in front of the least expected audiences. We’ve lived through
unforgettable experiences and we’ve met wonderful people all over the
place. We could say that we know the world a little better, and now
that we’re going, we can’t help but remember it fondly.

We’ve had the fortune to enjoy a continuity and recognition at the
national level for which we can’t help but feel both grateful and
proud. We have had a career, in the end, with the work, the
sacrifices, and the rewards that come with it. We’ve also obtained
international recognition, especially in the US, where we have done
multiple national tours, and we have filled clubs in the big cities of
the country: LA, San Francisco, Chicago, NYC, where we have played
more than 20 times, turning it into a kind of second home. We have
recorded albums with respected people, both here and abroad, and
almost always with the luck of meeting the right people in the right
moment. The list of anecdotes is too long to include in a press
release.

We can’t close out this chapter without remembering those who were
always with us. To our families and our partners, and our closest
friends. To Tomás, because we started all of this with you. Of course,
to our team—Txesma, Charly, and Toni—for your commitment,
professionality, and friendship throughout all these years. To Fer,
Carlos, and Dean for the respect, the work, and the trust. Many
thanks, sincerely—without you this wouldn’t have been the same.

But more than anything, this would not have been possible, nor would
it have been worth doing, if we had not had an audience or a public,
for whom the songs were always written. In honor of all of you, who
have followed the group throughout the years and in varied
circumstances, we’ll soon be announcing a series of farewell dates.

Many thanks to everyone. Thank you!

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that Delorean’s Facebook post was written in Spanish and Catalan. In fact, it is in Spanish and Basque.